We did the Missouri Crunch Off!

Child Care Aware of Missouri participated in the Missouri Crunch Off on October 2. Staff voted on their favorite crunchy fruit by snacking on a samples Grimes Golden, Hawaii, Liberty, Sweet Sixteen apples and Asian Pears. Grimes Golden was winner. It is one of the parents to the Golden Delicious and several staff noted the sweet, crisp taste of the apple. The fruit was purchased at the Jefferson City Farmer’s Market from Cedar Wind Orchard. The orchard is in Fulton and has a wonderful variety of apples and makes the best apple cider!

You can have your own event! The Missouri Crunch Off is organized by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to celebrate National Farm to School Month. Your event can be a full day of events or do something simple by serving apples or other crunchy fruits and vegetables at lunch or snack.

The Goddard School in Oakville is celebrating their third Missouri Crunch Off.  Kelley Nelson, Director continues to participate because it builds healthy habits and encourages social interaction. 

The Missouri Crunch website has excellent resources to help plan a fun and engaging event. Resources include:

• Crunch Off Toolkit, a complete guide to planning your Crunch;
• Missouri Crunch Recipes  
• Link to the Missouri Grown producer database;  
• Lesson ideas 
• Take a virtual tour of a Missouri apple orchard!

Bookmark the website because resources are added regularly!  

You can plan your Crunch for any time in the month of October. Don't miss out!

Click here to register and find ideas to plan your event

Have a specific question? Contact Lisa Lauer at the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. She can be reached at Lisa.Lauer@health.mo.gov.

Keep Crunchin’!

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Missouri Office of Childhood Updates
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